Dispensing apparatus



J. F. LQNGHWAY DISPENSING APPARATUS 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 1 Filed Dec. 29, 1943 IN VENTOR.

5 w 9 n 0 m e w J ATTORNEY.

Nov. 13, 1945.

J. F. LONGHWAY DI SPENS ING APPARATUS 5 sheets sheet 2 Filed Dec. 29, 1943 INVENTOR. Joseph FL onghw'ag ATTORNEY.

Nov. 13, 1945. J. F. LONGHWAY DISPENSING APPARATUS 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Dec. 29, 1945 mwm v" M w m w m n m 9 A mm H 1m m mwrfi w w .w 1

gem a V Em I; m? u 9w n u n u Y A w H G N O L F I DISPENSING APPARATUS Filed D86. 29 1945 5S1r1eets-Sheet 4 I NVENTOR. Jase ah FZongh wa y ATTORNEY.

13, I J. F. LONGHWAY DISPENSING APPARATUS Filed Dc. 29, 1943 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTOR: Joseph Flonyh way ATTD R N EY- Patented Nov. 13, 1945 UNITED em -res or FITGESI assaocs msnnmsmolnnrmflns Joseph .F'. Longhway, Os'wego, 'NEY." ApplicatiomDecember 29, 1943,8erialzNoh51-6J0la-i' This invention relates to coal dispensers,- and more particularly to dispensingofcoahfr'om hopper railroad cars-throughthe bottoms' of the-cars.

Transportation and delivery' of coal =i-n railroad hopper cars is now the most prevalent: mode of.

handling-thatcommodity by rail. Wherr the loadedcar reaches itsdestinatiorr the coal is-intended to be discharged through the bottom :of the car upon openingthe hopper gate; However, from various causes, 0f which wet -an-d freezing weather may bementioned-as examples; the coal becomes=-packed or crusty" tdsuch extent th'at it forms arr-arch thai-r'wil-l hold other coal as-well'as thatwhich forms the arch," from movement towardand =-from-- the hopper; Further-more, in winter the coal freezes-moreorlessthroughout the car and resiststheanticipated-gravitation-to the outlet" of the hopper.- Common, but danger ous practice, has-1been to*have'--workmen mount the cars-and coal-t0 usecrow-bars and pneumatic drills on the top of the coal=over the hoppers until the coalloosens and slides, often carrying lthe workmen downwiththecoal; Such process-aside from-itsdanger; is slow,-1=tedious and expensive, and unnecessarily delaysthecoaltransferopera tion and ties up the railroad rolling stock ior longer periods thandesired.

According to the present invention; an object of thesame is to relieve workmen from the danger ous and tedious labor heretoforerequired-in un' loading coal fromhopper cars;-

A further-object of the invention is to avoid necessity for'workm'en to enter-upon: the coal in hopper cars after the'hopper is openeda More specificail-y an object of the' in vention is to provide mechanical means which may -be em ployed both for breaking the coal jam" or crust and for-shifting coal in quantity within the car toward the hopper."-

Yet another object of the invention is to provide means operable upon coal: in onecar while-" another car is being-brought to position for-immedi at-e' operation on the coal therein :when the job has beencompleted with respect to the first car;

Furthermore; an: object of the invention'is to provide'an apparatus-having versatiii ty ofmove ment and yet capable-of being held stationary and resist adverse forces. u

still further objects ot -theinvention will be apparent as the descr-iptiomprogresses; both b direct recitation thereof and by implication from the context? Referring #00 the accompanying: drawings:

which like" numerals of =-'reference-= indicate: the same parts-throughout :the severalfviewsz Figured is aside elevationie coal dispen'serconstructed accordance withlth present invention;.:

Figure'z is an end-view 'of the same;

Figure 3 'is a :plan on scale -:reducedfrom the showing of: Figs. :1 and i 2 Figure-4 'is': a sectiohal view on line 4-4 of Figi -'1';'i.

Figure :5 a sectionazl viewon line Fi'gtzj F1"gure'=6is a sectionalview on line ii-"f-t of Fig.24;i

Figure :7 is a sectional view": on'line "l'='|-*of Fig-416;

Figure 8 is ad'eta'il' sectional-elevation of auto= matic cut -off bi stopping'switch'for the plunger; and-1* Figure'9 is a genera-1' wiring-'diagramior the apparatus- In" *the =specifi'c" embodiment of" the invention illustrated irr said drawings; the reference numeral=l5 designates conventional railroad dumping or hopper cars on railroad trackage-l 6, itbeing'the'desire to loosen the contents, such as coal; stone, sand or other material, in such 'cars and cause-that, material to' gravitate to desiredplace of-discharge Spanning the railroad trackage; I prefer'toerecta' steel frame structure here shown asJhaVing four cornerpostsior' pillars IT. in quadrangulardisposition connected at their. upper endsbyhhorizontally disposed .side header beams l8 longitudinally parallel. to the railroad, tracks, wellaboMe the same, and. by. end header beams 19. transverselylsituated. with respectv to said railroad .trackage and likewise. well -above the .same on said;.pillars.. .A.carriage.20 is movablyl carried. by the end headenbeams-JS. Said carriage is horizontally rectangular. andoiopen-iramecharacterin-i turn :supporting a, cab 21 whichmay. be propelled longitudinally thereof from-.end to end ofethe-carriage,andeonsequently from ,endto end ofrthe fixedaframe-structure. and in a direction longitudinall of. therarailroad. trackage. While the -railroadl.has--l.beenrshown" arranged for two' carstside byl side, with-thetframe: structure span.- ning the-doubletrackage of the: railroad system, itriS withinuthei-scope ofthe invention to employ assmanytracks as desired and utilize an appropriate span oftheiramastructureto complywith thex-choica. By: virtue: of theumounting of they carriagevmovably ;orr the-endrhea'der beams, the carriagewmay be-sshizfited to;over1iei cars: on-ceithen OfLthEiEai1I0adL$raCkSrl Likewiserhy movable:supeapontrofi-theacab on:-the carriage, saidrcab: may" he:

moved over any part of the length of the cars under the carriage.

Carried by the cab is a vertically movable plunger 22 which may be raised above the cars and their contents or may be lowered vertically into the cars as far as desired, the bottom of the plunger having a spade or other tool 23 affixed thereto for digging into the contents of the cars. By the general arrangement above described, three dimensional movement for the spade or tool is provided, enabling the same to be manipulated by an operator vertically and in horizontal directions longitudinal of or transverse to the cars, or combinations of those directions, so that the coal or other contents may be attacked where desired and moved or pushed in any desired direction within the car.

Describing the apparatus more in detail, it will be observed that the end header beams are shown.

with horizontally disposed flanges, the beams shown being I-beams. with the inside lower flanges having rails 24 thereon, on which ride flanged wheels 25 carried by the carriage. Other rails 26 are carried on the under side of the upper inside flanges of the I-beams to hold the wheels from being lifted, from the lower rails on which they ride. Said wheels are preferably near the end corners of the carriage and are connected in axially alined pairs by shafts 21 on which they are fixed thereb necessitating wheels at opposite ends of the shafts to both be rotated when the attached shaft rotates. One of these shafts 21 is driven by a motor 28 and trainof gearing 29, the motor being reversible and under control of the operator in the cab. The motor furthermore is preferably equipped with a solenoid brake 30 that the carriage may be stopped and held at desired position, I

As indicated above, the carriage is horizontally rectangular, and is of frame formation utilizing I-beams for the pu p se, the parallel longest pair of which, for convenience called the side frame members, provide lower rails 3| thereon for rolling support of the aforementioned cab. The wheels may be prevented from materially lifting from the lower rails by overlying upper rails 32, said lower and upper rails 3|, 32 being carried by the inside lower and upper flanges of the I-beams. Wheels 33 connected in opposite axially alined pairs by mounting on shafts 34,

support the cab which has appropriate bearings for said shafts. One at least of said shafts is driven by a reversible electric motor 35 having a solenoid brake 36 and under control of the operator in the cab. Said motor is shown situated in the cab, being hung on brackets from the roof of the cab, and in driving connection with one shaft 34 by intervening gearing 31,

Said vertically movable plunger 22 is preferably housed at the part thereof within the cab, in a guideway 38 which extends from floor to roof of the cab, with suitable bearings included as will be understood to obtain free sliding of the plunger. One face of said plunger is provided with rack-teeth 39, which, for convenience of construction and replacement are formed in a rack 40 secured removably on the plunger, The plunger rack-teeth are shown engaged at an appropriate part of the length of the plunger by a pinion 4| representative of a gear train from an operating or driving motor 42. Specifically said motor is shown inside the cab on the floor thereof, and intervening between the motor and pinion is a gear-box 43 and clutch 44. The motor may accordingly be a one-way or non-reversing motor and by manipulation of controls handy to the operator, the clutch and gears, similar to and capable of similar control as in automobiles, may be manipulated to drive the plunger up or down at the will of the operator with the motor rotating continuously,

However, to automatically prevent the plunger from exceeding the maximum stroke in either direction, automatic means are provided to stop the same at limiting stroke positions. This means as shown includes a switch at top and bottom maximum stroke positions in series with the plunger motor to shut off the current to the motor at those positions, and also includes a solenoid brake 45 in the drive between the motor and pinion for stopping rotation thereof and to hold the plunger at the position where stopped as long as'the'pinion and motor are connected through the clutch and gear-box.

The automatic switch may assume any desired form, one of which is illustrated in Figure 8. According to that showing, a pivoted arm 45 carrying a roller 41 in engagement with one face of the plunger is permitted to swing into a recess 48 in the plunger at limiting position of the plunger, Such swinging of the arm breaks electrical circuit 49 to the motor by opening contacts 50. In this instance as in previous mention of use of solenoid brakes, discontinuance of the current to drive the motor results in the solenoid brake applying its braking force to stop the motor and its connected driven instrumentality. Breaking circuit 49 by opening contacts 50, accordingly both discontinues driving power to the motor and causes the braking moment to be applied by the solenoid brake.

Preferably the construction is suchthat the plunger will tend to drift to its upward position when not otherwise held. To accomplish this desideratum, an overbalancing counterbalance or weight 5| is connected to the plunger. This weight is shown housed in a vertical guideway 52 juxtaposed next the plunger guideway. At a .top part of the housing constituting said guideways is provided a pinion 53 in mesh with teeth 39'of rack 40 and fast with respect to a drum or winch 54. Across the weight guideway, parallel to said drum, is an axle 55 on which is rotatably and slidably mounted an idler pulley 56 which can therefore follow the position of the flexible member or cable 51 passing thereover and extending from the drum to the weight. As the plunger descends, the cable 51 is wound upon the drum and lifts the weight which accordingly exerts a constant and even lifting force to the plunger. The operator may stop the upward drift or movement of the plunger whenever desired by application of a foot brake 58 provided for the purpose between the motor 42 and pinion 4| operated thereby.

The cab is shown as having suitable transparent windows 59 therein at appropriate parts thereof, for instance, in the floor of the cab, that the operator may observe the cars and plunger tool beneath the cab for enabling the operator to have full observation of position and operation of all parts of the mechanism. The cab is equipped with a seat 60 and conveniently located switches and mechanical control levers and pedals for the several instrumentalities described and by which he maintains full control of all moving parts. The tool on the plunger is preferably removable therefrom for replacement as desired, the tool shown having a flaring flat vertical surface for pushing the coal or other contents of the cars, and having a pronged lower edge for enabling the tool to imbed in the coal and break clots or other crusty or tenacious formations requiring disintegration.

That the showing may not be held inadequate, and as illustrative of one possible and practical wiring of the connections to control and supply current to the several electrical devices described, Figure 9 has been included as a wiring diagram. Polyphase current is derived from a line Bl on closing switch 62. For the reversible three-phase carriage motor 28, the diagrammatic showing within the heavy dotted oblong 63 is the usual representation of A. C. magnetic starter with thermal overload protection and self contained fuse with reversing arrangement. The showing of push buttons 64 is illustrative of means by which the operator controls direction and starting of the carriage motor. Similarly for the three-phase reversible cab motor 35 the diagrammatic showing within the heavy dotted oblong E is the representation of A. C. magnetic starter with thermal overload protection and self contained fuse with reversing arrangement for that motor. The showing of push buttons 66 is illustrative of means by which the operator controls direction and starting of the cab motor. The plunger motor 32 is indicated diagrammatically as threephase non-reversing, and the diagram within the heavy dotted oblong 6'! is the usual representation of A. C. starter with thermal overload protection for the motor. Push buttons 68 indicate means by which the operator controls starting. The automatic limiting switches 50, 50 are shown in the diagram, and shunted around them is a spring-loaded switch 69 by which the operator may re-start the plunger motor 42 even though one of the limiting switches may otherwise break the circuit. At the other end of the diagram of Fig. 9, is shown a warning bell 10 and two switches 1| indicative of switches which may be closed when one of the mechanisms, such as plunger, cab or carriage, approaches its limiting position, and thereby sound a warning.

I claim:

1. An apparatus of the character described, comprising a cab suspended with permissible movement in horizontal directions, a plunger carried from said cab and vertically movable therein, a motor for operating said plunger said motor being releasable from driving connection with said plunger, and means for actuating said plunger to its upward position on release of the motor from driving connection therewith.

2. An apparatus of the character described, comprising a cab suspended with permissible movement in horizontal directions, a plunger carried from said cab and vertically movable with respect thereto, a motor for driving said plunger, a clutch and reverse gear in the drive between said motor and plunger, and means for actuating said plunger to its upward position on releasing the driving connection from the motor thereto.

3. An apparatus of the character described, comprising a cab suspended with permissible movement in horizontal directions, a plunger carried from said cab and vertically movable with respect thereto, a motor for driving said plunger, and means for stopping the motor and plunger automatically at maximum stroke position of the plunger.

4. An apparatus as characterized, comprising a pair of fixed, parallel and spaced rails, a movable member having wheels on said rails, a cab suspended from the movable member, said cab having a floor and side walls and bearings fixed to the side walls of the cab at an upper part thereof distant from the floor, spaced and parallel shafts extending through said bearings, wheels outside the cab walls and on said shafts, said wheels and shafts supporting the cab with the greater portion of the cab depending below said tracks, said floor having vision openings therethrough, a tool-carrying plunger extending vertically through said floor, mechanism for operating the plunger and for moving said member on said tracks, all moving mechanism other than the depending portion of the plunger and tool being confined to a region above said vision openings whereby an operator in the cab will have constantly unobstructed view of the lower part of the plunger and of the tool during operation thereof.

JOSEPH F. LONGHWAY. 

